Halfway to the Truth (10 page)

Reachin
g Tybee Island, Nikolaus guided the Corvette to a stop in a parking area next to the side of The Reef restaurant. The Reef was about halfway down Tybee Island’s main street with a great view of the ocean. There, he picked up Reese’s bag from the back seat and locked it in his trunk before helping her out of the vehicle.

When they got inside, Nikolaus asked to be seated at a window seat. The hostess escorted them past a square-shaped, glass-block bar situated in the middle of the restaurant to a table with a breathtaking view.

Reese looked around at the well-appointed room. The walls were painted with hues of yellow and blue that simulated a sea scene that was accentuated by the chestnut-colored wood floors. The high, open windows facing the ocean brought in the light that bathed the interior with a calming effect.

“This isn’t your typical beach restaurant,” Reese spoke continuing to take in the scene.

“No, I guess it isn’t,” he agreed. “But unless you’re going to a pizza place, why not surround yourself with atmosphere. Viktor owned this place about fifteen years ago, but it never looked like this.”

“Your father is quite the entrepreneur.”

“Maybe. But there were no Greek places to eat at out here, so he thought he’d make one. It did okay for a while, but then he learned his manager was skimming money. Shortly after that, he sold it at twice what he paid for it. The owners have expanded it over the years and did this remodel last year. Do you like it?”

“I love it! Thanks for bringing me here,” she said, reaching across the table for his hand.

He changed the subject. “I have to ask… what made you want to take my father up on his offer?”

Reese fidgeted for a second before answering. She wanted to make sure she didn’t say something that didn’t gel with what she already told him.

“I felt I was being used. Doug has this thing about Viktor and all my assignments seem to focus on him. It’s like he won’t even give me a chance to do any other stories. Damn it! I’m a reporter, not a biographer.”

She hoped Nikolaus was buying it and resumed. “Even though I only met your father once, I got the feeling he was a good man. And offers like his don’t happen to people like me. He’s throwing a lot of money my way and I’m willing to see if I can do the job.”

Nikolaus was openly taking in her account of what happened, but still wasn’t satisfied. He prodded for more information. “So tell me again why you were fired?”

Not aware that he was scrutinizing her every word, she replied. “Because I didn’t want to play Doug’s game anymore. I knew he wasn’t going to like me going over to the other side if you will, but I had to tell him at some point. He just started ranting and raving at me which only made me more determined. The bastard didn’t even allow me to give my two weeks’ notice.”

“You’ll be calling my father soon then?” he asked seeming satisfied with her explanation.

“Maybe in a few days. I don’t want to think about any of that right now. I just want to be with you. You feel the same don’t you?”

“Yes, I do,” he said with commitment. “Let’s enjoy our lunch first and then we’ll go over to the beach house.”

They spent the next hour sharing martinis, food, and Nikolaus’ narration of growing up in Greece.

When they arrived at the beach house, Reese saw a three-story structure with a blue aluminum roof over a white, clapboard base. Large, detailed windows, a portico covering a double wooden door, and stained-concrete stairs ascended to the main door.

From the street, the structure was barely visible owing that to the lush landscaping of native grasses, bushes, and palm trees which also helped to shield it from neighbors. 

Nikolaus turned left on the property and travelled a curved driveway to the rear of the house. There, he parked in front of a separate two-car garage.

From the rear of the house, Reese could see distant waves just beyond the rolling sand dunes. A wooden walkway ran from the edge of a pool and wound through the dunes toward the beach. The back of the house better revealed its true size, showing supporting wood columns atop concrete pillars that held up an open porch stretching the length of the house. The smaller third floor had a niche carved out which appeared to be another balcony.

“I can tell by the way you’re holding your mouth that you’re impressed,” said Nikolaus, shutting off the engine.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking all around her, “but words escape me. This place should be in
Home and Garden
. I can’t wait to see the inside.”

He retrieved her bag from the trunk and invited her inside.

Starting her tour on the lowest level, he could tell she was not going to be disappointed.

The interior was as sumptuous as the outside. The pool level
contained a game room, an office, a spare bedroom with full bath, and a fully-equipped exercise room. Through the glass patio doors, he pointed out the pool and outdoor entertaining area on the brick patio.

They moved to a nearby elevator and rode it to the main floor. The door opened to a large living room with floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto the beach and water. Separated by a bar counter, a large gourmet kitchen was on the other side of the living room. Two more bedrooms and a bathroom completed the composition of the floor
.

When they arrived on the third level, there was a large master suite with his and her closets, a sitting room, and a grand master bath.

Nikolaus walked over to the oversized bed and dropped her bag. “I can take this to another bedroom if you’re uncomfortable being here with me,” he said.

She walked over to a door that led onto the third-floor balcony she had seen from the parking area and opened it. The sea breeze wisped through her hair. She inhaled the beach smell and then stepped out onto the deck.

Nikolaus followed her out. While still waiting for an answer, he put his hands on her hips as she gazed outward.

“This room will do just fine,” she said, turning toward him and giving him a kiss. “I’d like to go down and sit by the pool if that’s okay. Is there any wine in the house?”

“There’s a wine cooler in the kitchen and one on the lower level, and both are well stocked. The only thing we are going to need are fresh foods and dairy. We can go out for those later. Why don’t you put your things away and then meet me outside. Do you want red or white?”

“I’ll take red; a cabernet if you have it.”

He kissed her again and took two separate stairways down to the lower level. There, he changed into a bathing suit and grabbed two large towels from a closet. On his way to the pool, he took a bottle of cabernet from the wine cooler and picked up two wine glasses before heading out.

It wasn’t long before Reese joined him. She was wearing a black and white bikini with a solid black nylon sarong wrapped low around her hips. Sunglasses and three-inch heeled black lace espadrilles completed her ensemble.

Leaning back on his lounge chair and peering through his own sunglasses, Nikolaus took in the vision approaching him. Her black hair blew in the breeze, while the edge of the sarong caught the wind revealing her smooth thighs. He watched her full, perky breasts jiggle as she walked across the brick patio toward him. He did everything he could to maintain control of himself.

Handing her a glass as she settled onto the lounge next to him, he couldn’t help but notice a small scar on her right side. “Appendicitis?” he asked leaning to pour her some wine.

“It happened the day before my sixteenth birthday. Some present huh?” she said, as she took a sip of wine.

“Tell me what you think of the house?” he asked raising his glass in that direction.

“It’s unbelievable,” Reese said. “Nice gift to get from your father. I don’t really understand why you’re so angry with him. He seems to give you everything you want.”

“Viktor doesn’t do anything without it benefitting himself. This place was getting neglected so he gave it to me. It didn’t look anything like this when I got it. I spent over a million dollars of my own money to get it to look like this.”

“Well, you certainly did a great job with it. Was it your design?”

“No. A woman I dated a while ago was an interior designer. It was all her idea. She was big into exercise, that’s how I ended up with the exercise room. But I do like the sauna she put in there; something about sweating that appeals to me.” He raised his glass in a salute.

“Have you brought a lot of women here?” she asked leaning back and raising her head to catch the afternoon sun.”

He glanced over at her trying to read the nonchalant manner in which she asked her question, then answered, “You’re the only one since her. It ended kind of badly between us, and I never felt like bringing another woman here.”

“Are we going to end badly too?” she asked not moving from her position.

He put down his drink and grabbed her hand. “Not if you go into the pool with me?” he said, pulling her up.

He dove into the pool and signaled her to join him.

She carefully took off her sarong covering and placed it and her sunglasses on the lounge. Then she walked down the steps into the pool and waded over to him. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed. The warm water of the pool squished between their bodies as they embraced.

He moved her over to the side of the pool and pinned her between himself and the wall. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling his head to her neck. After a few minutes of suggestive foreplay, he pulled away.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he said. “We’ll be more comfortable.”

Taking his hand, she followed him out of the pool. She watched as the water fell away from his olive-colored skin and across the Speedo he was wearing. His back was smooth and his buttocks were tight.

As he turned to help her out, the sun glistened off his jet black hair and she could see the look of determination on his face.

He wrapped her in a towel and then dried himself off. She gathered her things and he led her back into the house.

They rode the elevator to the third floor bedroom, never taking an eye off each other.

There, Nikolaus slowly removed the towel wrapped around Reese and unhooked her bikini top. He then raised the hair from the back of her neck and kissed her gently on the top of her shoulders. He was deliberate in his movements and took his time.

Reese closed her eyes so she could better image his warm lips explore her neck and back. Soon, she wanted more and spun around pressing her breasts into his chest and sought his mouth with her tongue.

He picked her up, carried her to the bed, and gently lay her down. He continued to explore the curves in her body with his lips and tongue. When he got to her scar, he kissed it gently while helping her to don her cheeky bikini bottom. After what seemed like hours of sensual examination, they were locked together, bodies rising and falling in a rhythmic response to their raised passion.

Friday morning, Nikolaus had returned Reese to her apartment as she requested. He was fully aware that she was going to call his father and accept his job offer. But what he wasn’t sure about, was the motivation behind his father’s proposal in the first place. He thought it would be a stretch for the old man to just want to take her away from Doug Williams for no reason. For now though, he was willing to wait and see what was going to happen, as he continued to pursue his own agenda on Reese.

Meanwhile, Reese dialed the private number that Viktor had given to her. In the seconds that ticked away while she waited for him to answer, her mind drifted back to the past few days spent with Nikolaus. Her thoughts immediately focused on their love making and how gentle he was with her. That he didn’t rush a moment of it to satisfy his own desires. The thought of his hands on her only served to reawaken the feeling …

“Hello, who is this?” requested a gruff voice on the other end bringing her back to reality.

“Mr. Drakos, this is Miss Summers. You gave me your private number to call you when I made a decision on your offer. But if this is a bad time, I’ll call you back.”

The voice on the other end changed abruptly. “No,” he said apologetically, “I just spilled some coffee on my shirt. I’m sorry I sounded harsh with you. Can you give me a minute?”

“Yes, I’ll wait.”

She heard the phone being placed on a hard surface, and then heard some inaudible words that sounded like an argument in the background. She doubted that Viktor had an accident with his coffee from the little she could detect before he came back to her.

“I’m sorry Miss Summers, uh, may I call you Reese?”

“Yes, please do,” she invited.

“I hope that you’re calling me with good news?” he inquired.

“Mr. Drakos …”

He interrupted her. “It’s okay to be less formal with me as well Reese.”

“Very well, Viktor. I’m calling to let you know that I would like to take you up on becoming your Public Affairs Officer. I appreciate the confidence you have in me and I’ll try not to let you down.”

“Excellent! You will do just fine,” he encouraged. “I suppose you won’t be able to start for a few weeks …”

“Uh,” she stumbled, “I didn’t give a notice to the paper, so I’m ready any time you want me to start.”

“That’s not protocol Reese, so I have to ask you, what happened?”

“It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that Mr. Williams wasn’t happy about my coming to work for you, so he terminated me on the spot. He really doesn’t like you, but you already know that as well.”

Viktor’s response was slow to come. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand what he has against me. We were such good friends at one time. But, it’s his loss for both of us. Where are you now?”

“I’m home.”

“Give me your address, I’ll pick you up in an hour and take you to where you’ll be working.”

“That’s okay,” she countered, “I can find my way to the dock and meet you there.”

“Your office won’t be at the shipping yard Reese. I have another space downtown that my lawyers and administrative staff work out of. It’ll be much more comfortable for you there and easier to interact with the people that can get you started.”

“I’m sorry, I just assumed …” she began.

“Quite alright. Now what’s that address?”

A short while later, a large, black limo pulled into the apartment complex. Reese had been watching from her window expecting Viktor to arrive in a luxury vehicle, but had no idea it would be a Lincoln Town Car Executive-class monster complete with driver. Almost immediately she saw that it also caught the attention of a small number of her neighbors.

By the time she got down to the vehicle, they were gathering nearby no doubt to see what celebrity had taken a wrong turn off the street. She was slightly embarrassed when the driver met her and opened the rear door for her to go inside.

“Hello dear,” greeted Viktor as she found her seat.

He then passed her a full glass of champagne and signaled to the driver to leave. Raising his own glass, he said, “Let’s celebrate your maiden voyage with Drakos Shipping.”

Sensing Reese’s apprehension, he asked, “Aren’t you going to toast my dear?”

“Do you treat all your new employees this way?”

“No, only the special ones,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.

“What the hell,
‘stinygiasou’,” she said, and clinked his glass.

A smile came over Viktor’s face. “I see my son has been teaching you some Greek. Stinygiasou,” he returned, raising his glass.

Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to defend her honor. “Nikolaus and I have talked over dinner a few times,” she said. “He’s told me a lot about growing up in Greece and about his mother.”

“Ah yes, his mother. I suppose he told you we never married.”

“Yes, he did. But he never told me why?”

“It will seem like a weak excuse to you, but I knew when I came to America that I couldn’t take the chance of failing to establish myself here. As it was, I could barely take care of myself, so having her along would have made it that much more difficult.”

“But you left them in Greece to live in shame.”

“Yes, and I will regret that the rest of my life. She didn’t deserve what I did to her, but she’s done alright for herself. I send her a handsome stipend each month to try and make up for what I did.”

“And Nikolaus? What about him? He’s not feeling your love either.”

Viktor gazed out the window at the passing Savannah cityscape and took another drink of champagne. He appeared to go into a trance as he continued, “Nikolaus is my only child and I do love him. Understand, that I’m not a man given to parental emotions. So it’s been hard for me to show him my feelings. I’m trying to change, but I’m afraid it’s too late.”

“I don’t think it’s ever too late,” she expressed. “I think he would be happy to know your true feelings. All your wealth certainly hasn’t worked.”

Viktor turned back toward her. “Maybe that’s something you can help me with, but for now, let’s concentrate on the business at hand. We’ve arrived dear.”

After getting out of the limo, Reese stood in front of a three-story building as the driver closed the door behind her. Looking up, she observed the name Drakos Shipping Company inset in the concrete archway over the main entrance.

Viktor came around next to her and took hold of her arm and escorted her into the building. He led her into a first-floor office. The room was at least six times as large as the one Doug Williams sat in, and was not cluttered with books, papers, and cabinets.

As Reese walked about the room, her hand roamed across the surface of the items within it. The furnishings were dated, but made of good quality material. One wall was entirely dedicated to a book shelf, with rows of books on shipping and maritime laws. Behind the large, oak desk was a high window adorned by heavy, velvet drapes. Scattered throughout the room were photographs of ships and cases filled with scale models of ships.

“Let’s let some light in here,” Viktor said, breaking into her thoughts. He pulled a cord to open the window drapery.

“This used to be my office when I first started to make a name for myself in Savannah. I leased this office for three years and, as my success grew, I later bought the entire building. I guess it’ll be part of my legacy and will be here long after I’m gone. Please, make yourself at home while I get someone from HR to come and do your paperwork.” He left her to explore more on her own.

Ambling around the room, she came across a framed photograph on the wall showing a crowd gathered around a body of water. In the water appeared to be swimmers inside a half-circle of small boats. Underneath was a news article dated January 7, 1996 that described the photo event:
Tarpon Springs, FL. During the 90
th
Epiphany Celebration dive, in which 32 Greek boys between the ages of 16 and 18 participated, the weather was not a factor. It took two minutes for the cross to be brought up from the bottom of Spring Bayou. The event is held every January 6
th
to commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.

Reese continued reading and saw the names of the boys who participated. She stopped when she saw the name Nikolaus Drakos, and in her surprise she barely heard the office door open.

“Here we are Reese,” said Viktor, returning with an employee. “This young lady will help you fill out the paperwork and get you entered into our database. I’ll take you on a tour of the building when you have finished. I’ll return in a half hour.” He left the two women to complete her documentation.

Exactly thirty minutes later, Viktor returned. He was assured by the employee that she had gathered the necessary information and he saw her out of the room.

“I’ll take you on that tour now,” he indicated to Reese.

“Good,” she said, “I can’t wait to see my office.”

“But you’re in it,” he replied. “This is where you’ll be working from. I don’t use it anymore and I’m happy to have someone in it.”

“Viktor, I don’t know…” she said hesitantly. “Wouldn’t that be sending a bad message to the other employees? I don’t want them not to like me.”

“Don’t worry,” he laughed. “Wait till you see
their
work spaces. Come on, I’ll show you around.”

“Viktor before we go, could I ask you a question about that photograph on the wall?” she said pointing to the news article photograph.

“Oh that, it’s nothing,” he said, waving it off.

“But I saw Nikolaus’ name up there and I want to know more about it. Please, humor me?”

He walked over to her, took her by the hand, and together they went to the photograph.

“It’s probably the one time in Nikolaus’ life when we were close,” he said, looking at the photograph. “He was 18 years old and very excited to take part in the celebration. It’s open to all Greek boys in the United States, and he made me promise to take him before he was too old. The festivities begin with a service at nearby St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Then at noon, the traditional procession from the church to Spring Bayou takes place, followed by the blessing of the water and boats. After the blessing, a cross is thrown into the water and the boys dive to retrieve it. Whoever comes up with the cross gets a special blessing for the year.”

“Did Nikolaus come up with the cross?” she asked excited.

“Unfortunately no. I’m not even sure he remembers who came up with it. I just kept this as a reminder to me of how he was at that age.”

Reese sensed a degree of emotion in Viktor’s voice.

“Are you ready for your tour?” he asked, breaking from his memory.

“Alright,” she said. But before they left the room, she took a final glance over her shoulder at the wall hanging.